Is Playa Viva Safe for Travel?

We usually get this question after you book your reservation with us. What we find is that you will go out to dinner with friends and bring up the topic of your upcoming vacation to Mexico or call home to tell mom that you just booked a wonderful retreat at Playa Viva, Mexico...and inevitably you get the following response, "Are you crazy! Don't you know how dangerous it is in Mexico?" Then you call us and ask? "Is it safe?

The short answer to the question is "yes." Your are just as safe at Playa Viva as you are at home or going on vacation to a small town nearby to where you live.

The long answer (and we appreciate your need for more information, as well as we take this question very seriously as it significantly impacts our business) is as follows:

1) The US Travel Advisory is very specific with its advice. Basically it states that MILLIONS of Americans travel safely to and from Mexico every year for tourism with "no evidence that organized criminal groups have targeted U.S. visitors."

Futher stating, "Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year for study, tourism, and business, including more than 150,000 who cross the border every day. The Mexican government dedicates substantial resources to protect visitors to major tourist destinations, and there is no evidence that organized criminal groups have targeted U.S. visitors or residents based on their nationality. Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico generally do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime that are reported in the border region or in areas along major trafficking routes."

2) That said, we take security very seriously at Playa Viva. As futher stated in the US Travel Advisory:

U.S. citizens are encouraged to lower their personal profiles and to avoid displaying indicators of wealth such as expensive or expensive-looking jewelry, watches, or cameras. U.S. citizens are encouraged to maintain awareness of their surroundings and avoid situations in which they may be isolated or stand out as potential victims.

Related to SAFETY, we take the following measures:

Travel in bonded taxis or via agencies with known drivers

Travel in our vehicles with Playa Viva staff

Travel restricted to the major highways during nighttime or in local roads frequented and well known by team.

24x7 security guards on site

Random, regular visits by Federal, State, Local and Tourism police

Safes in all rooms to guard valuables

Recommend leaving all jewelry and wearable valuables at home.

Laptop, cell phones, cameras ok, as with travel anywhere, keep a close eye and use normal precautions

We accept credit card for payment for all items including tips to limit cash guests carry for use on purchases from local vendors who do not accept credit cards

As the Travel Advisory futher states: "Of particular safety concern are casinos, sports books, or other gambling establishments and adult entertainment establishments. U.S. government personnel are specifically prohibited from patronizing these establishments in the states of Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosi, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit."

Where ever we go, we can potentially be the subjects of random violence. So while the crime statistics may be high in certain areas and random violent crime might alarm us, the reality is that places like Playa Viva and the locations for local excursions are all safe, as safe as any other similar location in the world you might travel.

One quote recently heard on the subject if violence in Mexico, "the violence is isolated, it is bad people doing bad things to other bad people for having done bad things to them." In our work (and daily activities), we stay bad people and the places they frequent.

We hope this addresses your concerns. This is probably too much on the topic, but as you can see, it angers us that alarmists take the easy route, making sweeping generalizations and echo the media hype without taking into consideration the facts and real information from people on the ground living in those communities.

Finally, if you look at our TripAdvisor reviews, these are unedited reviews by guests, NOT ONE SINGLE review mentions any concern about security. On the contrary, they mention how safe and secure they felt.